Burn Notice: "Hot Spot" Review

Michael closes in on the bomber that tried to kill him.

For those of you who were looking for the most smoldering "will they/won't they" couple in all of Miami to hook up, then "Hot Spot" will have had you cheering from the rafters. There wasn't a ton of dramatic resonance in this episode, and at first I thought that it was going to waste all of its beats with a return to all of the "unsaid" things between Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) – but by the end, those moments didn't go to waste and the two of them finally kissed...and more. They even found a way for Michael to be dripping wet but not have them be standing in the rain. The fact that they were able to bring these two back into their little teary-eyed "theater of pain" and then have it lead to a rekindling of passion was great. And this time it actually seemed like Michael felt good about the whole experience the morning after. Of course, if they really want to torment us further, they'll have Fiona be the one who pulls away this time.

The lead-in to the kiss was a firebomb in the house of one Derek Poole (Chris Marazzo), the mad bomber who almost sent Michael on a one way trip to oblivion. As soon as Fiona decided to enter Poole's trashy, seemingly abandoned house all by herself, you knew that she was walking into a deathtrap ala Speed. When Michael thinks that Fiona might have actually burned to death, his love for her, which usually remains tucked down tight in his gut, manifests itself as unexpected grief. Then when he discovers that she managed to survive Poole's booby-trap, he's filled with relief and love. It was nice to have the hunt for the bomber take priority over the Robin Hood story this time around. Not that the "Hood" story wasn't fun, but it was almost a bit too easy. The best part about it were the matching black jackets and white shirts that Mike, Fi and Sam (Bruce Campbell) all wore to instill a sense of organized and efficient cruelty behind their fake car theft operation.

"I once had a chainsaw this big."

By the way, I know it's supposed to be ungodly humid down there in Miami, but those three should wear those suits all the time. And walk in slow motion while cocking shotguns. I'm just saying. Michael has lost his desperate mean streak from just one episode ago, which is a shame, but the team still takes on a more "direct" approach while trying to run a gang of car thieves, led by Felix Cole (Kirk "Stick Fingaz" Jones), out of town. They basically just attack them. And then they attack them again and set their hideout on fire. It must be a bittersweet gig to play a villain on Burn Notice. Most of the time you're just so overmatched that all you can do is just react like a scared and fearful baby while Michael's team dismantles you at every turn. And from Michael's side, all he had to do was move the two kids that the gang was target in with his mom for a few days and…they were safe. All in all, it was kind of an easy job, which is nice to have every now and again. It gives one the impression that Mike and company have come to work together like a well-oiled machine. By the way, ex-Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin guest starred in this one as Sam's buddy, a football coach. I said to myself "man, who's the dude who can't act? Must be a famous athlete." Low and behold…

Madeline (Sharon Gless) got more to do in this one, playing house mom to the two kids targeted by the gang. Again, she comes off as both sympathetic and psychotic while describing an old Christmas picture of her and her husband and kids. Young Michael has a busted-up eye because he was trying to protect his little brother Nate from their rampaging alcoholic father. Awww, and then she made them all pose for a picture because they needed to all come together and look happy. She recognizes that she ran a totally messed up household, but she still has yet to accept her role in the mess. She always defends herself by claiming that she "did the best she could." But there's has to be a reckoning coming. Michael doesn't need to have it out with her anymore, but she does need to come to an inner clarity on her own. Her guilt needs to manifest itself, and that would indeed make her a complete character.